Then family members start take turns to kowtow three to nine times (depending on the family adherence to traditional values) before the tomb of the ancestors.
For example, at a wedding, the marrying couple was traditionally required to kowtow to both sets of parents, as acknowledgement of the debt owed for their nurturing.
As dictated by their translator, the party performed the traditional kowtow, as failing to do so would most likely result in immediate refusal by the emperor.
